The Link Between Bank Street Architecture and Ancient Greece This week I decided to do something different and write about a component of architecture rather than a specific building itself. Prepare yourselves, friends, for a treatise on cornices. Don’t worry, it’ll be cooler than it sounds. So you may be asking yourself, what is a cornice? And does it have anything to do with corn? Well, fun fact! No. It has nothing to do with corn. It’s a horizontal ledge, typically at the top of a building. If you walk down Bank Street towards Parliament, pretty much every building on either side of the street has a cornice. And because most of these buildings were built in the early 1900s, they’re very fancy cornices. Very fancy indeed (Modern buildings usually have cornices as well, but they’re less fancy). But is the cornice just a pretty hat we staple to the top of a building to make it more attractive? Nay! Its design is deeply rooted in historical building practices and, believe it or not, it actually serves an important function for the building.You’ve heard of the Parthenon, I’m sure– The big, important Greek temple in Athens, also featured prominently in pretty much any film about Hercules. It’s significant for a number of reasons, the least of which being that it is considered the high point in classical Greek architecture and design. “Forget all that,” you’re saying, “I want to hear about the cornice.” Patience, friend! The superstructure of the Parthenon is called the entablature (write that down, it’ll be on the test). The entablature is the top portion of the Parthenon – as well all classical Greek architecture, for that matter. The entablature is broken down into several layers, like a cake. The bottom-most layer, which sits directly on top of the columns, is called the architrave. Above that is a layer called the frieze, and above that is the cornice. On top of the cornice is the pediment – the bit that actually looks like a roof. These layers get gradually bigger as they go up – projecting further and further away from the face of the building. In classical Greek architecture, they’re also usually decorated. The middle layer of our entablature cake, for example, (Did you remember it’s called the Frieze? 5 points if you did) typically follows a pattern of three vertical lines, followed by a square, followed by three more vertical lines, then another square, ad infinitum. In the example of the Parthenon, these squares (called metopes) were heavily sculpted and depicted scenes of Greek gods fighting giants and stuff. Other Greek buildings leave these squares unornamented. But giant battles or no giant battles, the three vertical lines (called Triglyphs) always remain. Scholars reckon that these triglyphs are stone versions of older wood buildings, structure of the roof. This was when wood was the prevalent building material, before Greek engineers got all fancy with their stone. Remember this because it’s important. So let’s go back to our Bank Street cornices. Knowing what we now know (a whole bunch of Greek words and the vague feeling of wanting cake) consider how the cornices are ornamented and why they might be designed that way. The protruding pieces, called brackets, typically don’t play much of a role in holding up the cornice, despite their name. They’re mostly just for show – and we like the way they look because they remind us of how buildings used to be (and still are) built. The brackets look like the tail ends of the wooden members that hold up the roof – like the Triglyphs on the Parthenon. So in fact, they’re not idle ornamentation, but rather a very specific piece of design deeply rooted in human history and building practices. And remember how I said cornices weren’t just a pretty hat? That’s because they’re like a functional hat – like a baseball cap with a flower on it. Because the cornice projects out past the face of the wall, even if only by a little, it protects the building from rain washing down its face. This preserves the life of the wall, prevents rain from penetrating into the building, and keeps the building looking clean and streak-free. Quiz: Wasn’t that fascinating? I think so, and I hope you did to. Because there’s a quiz! 1. What is an Entablature? a) A cake b) A hat c) A cake and a hat d) The superstructure of classical Greek temple architecture comprised of the architrave, frieze and cornice. 2. What are the components of the Entablature? (No cheating) a) Architrave, frieze, and cornice b) Pediment c) Don’t pick B, the pediment isn’t actually part of the Entablature d) All of the above 3. How many glyphs does a triglyph have? a) Tri b) Three c) False, they’re not glyphs d) Three vertical line thingies…you never mentioned glyphs. How do I study for this exam?
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 15:19:55 +0000
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